LOCAL PRESS

RIK: Vucic leads presidential race with 95.08 pct of votes counted (Tanjug)

The Republic Election Commission (RIK) said on Monday that, based on 95.08 pct of votes counted, Aleksandar Vucic was leading in the presidential elections with 58.76 pct support. The candidate of the United for Victory of Serbia coalition Zdravko Ponos is in second place with 18.15 pct and the HOPE coalition’s Milos Jovanovic follows with 5.96 pct support. Dveri leader Bosko Obradovic is in fourth place with 4.4 pct, while Serbian Oathkeepers Party leader Milica Djurdjevic Stamenkovski won 4.28 pct of votes. The candidate of the We Must coalition Biljana Stojkovic is in sixth place (3.16 pct) and is followed by the Sovereignists’ Branka Stamenkovic (2.03 pct) and Serbian Right-Wing Party leader Misa Vacic (0.88 pct). According to the website of the electoral commission, the turnout in the presidential elections was 58.7 pct.

RIK said on Monday that, based on 91.02 pct of votes counted, the coalition around the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) was leading in the parliamentary elections with 43.45 pct support, which is equivalent to around 122 seats in the parliament. The United For Victory of Serbia coalition follows with 13.07 pct (36 seats in the parliament) and the Ivica Dacic For PM electoral list is in third place with 11.68 pct (32 seats in the parliament). The Hope for Serbia coalition won 5.27 pct of votes (14 seats in the parliament) and is followed by the We Must coalition (4.34 pct – 12 seats in the parliament), the Dveri-Movement for Restoration of the Kingdom of Serbia coalition (3.85 pct – 10 seats in the parliament), the Serbian Oathkeepers Party (3.76 pct – 10 seats in the parliament). According to the latest figures, the Sovereignists (2.25 pct), the Serbian Radical Party (2.17 pct), the Come on People coalition (1.65 pct) and the Kidnapped Babies electoral list (0.81 pct) all failed to clear the electoral threshold and will not be represented in the parliament. RIK also said the voter turnout in the parliamentary elections was at 58.49 pct.

Vucic: SNS won 44 pct of votes in parliamentary elections (Tanjug)

Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) leader Aleksandar Vucic said late on Sunday that, according to information available to his party, the Aleksandar Vucic – Together We Can Do It All electoral list had won 44 pct of votes in Sunday’s parliamentary elections in Serbia, or 124-125 seats in the national parliament. Vucic also said that, based on votes processed by the SNS so far, he had garnered 59.9-60.1 pct support in the presidential elections. He said the SNS-led list would be on the verge of being able to form a government on its own but that, with the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians, it would have more than enough seats in the parliament to do so. Vucic added that the result achieved by his electoral list in the Belgrade local elections was better than its result in the parliamentary elections.

Vucic: I accomplished something no one else ever did (B92)

“Ladies and gentlemen, we estimate that about 3.804.000 people went to today’s elections. The largest in recent times. According to Vucic, there were some unnecessary and meaningless tensions over minor issues during the day but everything ended peacefully,” Vucic said at the very beginning of his address. “What is important for the country is that the impact of the Ukrainian crisis was huge on the election results, and it can be seen that Serbia has moved dramatically to the right. I am responsible that the SNS lists have slightly fewer votes, but we will take care of that during the formation of the government, and we will not form it with those who have abused the trust of our people”, he pointed out. “The crisis in Ukraine had a huge effect on the results of the elections and Serbia has moved dramatically to the right,” he told reporters at the headquarters of Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). “I believe the SNS will manage to keep Serbia from going too far to the right”, Vucic said. Vucic said that the data processed by the SNS showed that the turnout was around 3.8 million of a total of some 6.5 million voters. Based on the results from 80 percent of polling stations, the coalition around the SNS won 43.95 percent of the vote for parliament which will give it 124 or 125 of the total of 250 seats in parliament. “We will have a sufficient majority to form a government with the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (SVM),” he said. He said that United for Serbia’s Victory won 13.6 percent of the vote and that the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) won 11.4 percent. The NADA coalition won 5.3 percent, We Must (Moramo) 4.7 percent, Oathkeepers (Zavetnici) and Dveri won 3.8 percent each. Speaking about the presidential elections, Vucic said that he won 59.9 percent of the vote or about 2.5 million votes while his main rival Zdravko Ponos won 17.7 percent. “A few personal things before I move on to the analysis of the political situation. I accomplished in Serbia something that no one succeeded in. I am the only one who won presidential elections twice in the first round,” said Vucic. As he said, he is proud that after Nikola Pasic, he will be the only Serb who has been in power for the longest time. “I am the only one who won twice in the first round, and that in the second term I received significantly more support. In the second term, I received 2.245.000 votes in the first round”, Vucic pointed out.

“In the end, when it becomes clear who will form the government, we will see who is the winner and who is the loser. For us, the big question is what we want to do with our country in the coming period. Do we want to keep peace and stability, as Serbia will continue on that path. For Serbia, good relations in the region are the most important thing, but also not to break ties with traditional friends, as well as not to flatter voters in Serbia. We have 4 or 5 years to work in the interests of our citizens. I want to thank the citizens of Serbia, I am infinitely proud and infinitely happy, and I try to hide the tears of joy because few have succeeded in this”, said Aleksandar Vucic. He thanked his family “which endured everything”, and all the people who supported him. “I want to say that I am proud of our campaign, which was the cleanest and most beautiful, and that I am proud that we have not slandered anyone”, he said. “We have already processed over 85 polling stations. For both the parliamentary and presidential elections. You will receive our results tomorrow, before RIK announces them. I want to congratulate all opponents on their good results. But first I want to thank my Serbian Progressive Party which I love endlessly, which I know was attacked in the worst ways, and I want to thank the SPS, the SVM, and everyone who supported me”, he said.

Ponos: Start of the end for Vucic (N1)

United for Serbia’s Victory presidential candidate Zdravko Ponos said on Sunday night that the elections are the start of the end of Aleksandar Vucic’s authorities. “We won’t wait four years for the next parliamentary elections. We won’t and we can’t betray the citizens who have started moving. A mass of people flooded the polling stations, a mass of young people. We won the elections in urban areas. I won the presidential elections in urban areas … everywhere where we had a better media situation,” he told reporters, adding that the coalition won’t gamble that away.

Ponos said the biggest achievement of the elections was the fact that they broke through the electorate’s fear. “People turned out, we launched hope,” he said. “We tried to show that you can be in politics without lies, not use hate speech, be polite towards political rivals,” he said. “We managed to turn on the light and people saw a semi-broken Serbia. They saw themselves humiliated and impoverished, they saw that their leaders are not that strong, that they should not fear them,” he said commenting the high turnout.

Dacic: Socialists won more votes than before (N1)

Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) leader Ivica Dacic said on Sunday night that the coalition headed by his party won about 100,000 more votes than it did at the previous elections. He said that the coalition won about 11.5 percent of the votes in the parliamentary elections. “This is progress compared to the previous elections but I am sure that we can reorganize the part and score even better results,” he told reporters at his party headquarters. According to Dacic, President Aleksandar Vucic scored a great result and huge historic victory. Dacic said that his coalition is prepared to continue cooperating with Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party.

CRTA NGO says Vucic coalition won more than 40 percent (N1)

The CRTA democracy watchdog projected victory for Aleksandar Vucic in the presidential elections and a score of more than 40 percent in the parliamentary elections. CRTA official Rasa Nedeljkov told reporters late on Sunday night that Vucic won 59.03 percent of the vote for president based on a 90 percent sample. He added that opposition candidate Zdravko Ponos won 17.44 percent with the NADA coalition’s Milos Jovanovic winning 5.64 percent. Vucic’s election ticket won 43.38 percent of the parliamentary vote while the opposition United for Serbia’s Victory list headed by Marinika Tepic won 12.92 percent. Vucic’s junior coalition partner Ivica Dacic’s Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) won 11.51 percent, the NADA coalition 5.21 percent, We Must (MORAMO) 4.3, the Dveri-Poks coalition 4.02 and the Oathkeepers (Zavetnici) 3.96 percent of the vote while the other election tickets did not cross the 3 percent threshold.

IPSOS/CeSID release projection of parliament, presidential elections (N1)

Preliminary results released by the IPSOS marketing agency and CeSID election monitoring NGO showed that the coalition around Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic won more than 40 percent of the vote at the parliamentary elections. IPSOS and CeSID based the projection of 62.5 of their sample data which showed that the Aleksandar Vucic – Together We Can Do Everything election ticket won 43.6 percent of the vote. The United for Serbia’s Victory coalition won 12.8 percent of the vote and Vucic’s junior coalition partner the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) won 11.6 percent. The other 16 election tickets won between 5.4 percent and 0.1 percent. The IPSOS/CeSID projection put Vucic in first place in the presidential race with 59.8 percent of the vote, based on 55.6 percent of their sample data. According to that projection, the United for Serbia’s Victory candidate Zdravko Ponos won 17 percent of the vote. The other 6 candidates won between 5.8 and 0.9 percent of the vote. Serbian voters cast ballots at presidential, parliamentary and local elections, including the vote for the Belgrade City Assembly on Sunday. A total of 6,502,307 citizens of Serbia had the right to cast ballots at 8,267 polling stations. The polls opened at 7:00 am and were supposed to close at 8:00 pm but some remained open to allow the people in long ques to vote. According to the IPSOS/CeSID projections for the Belgrade City Assembly elections, the coalition Aleksandar Vucic – Together we Can Do Everything won 38.8 percent of the vote while United for Belgrade’s Victory won 20.4 percent, We Must (Moram) 10.5 percent, Ivica Dacic’s list 7.1 percent.

CRTA: 57.3 pct turnout in Belgrade based on 96 pct of votes counted; SPS leads (N1)

CRTA’s monitoring mission projections of elections for Belgrade based on 96 percent counted ballots showed on Monday the turnout in the capital was 57.3 percent with most of the votes, 38.1 percent, going to Aleksandar Sapic, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s list candidate for the city’s mayor. The opposition Vladeta Jankovic – United for Belgrade’s Victory won 21.3 percent of the votes, and the list of the coalition ‘We Must – For a good city’ won 10.8 percent.

The list of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) Ivica Dacic – Prime Minister of Serbia, Toma Fila – Mayor of Belgrade won 6.9 percent of the vote, CRTA said. Aleksandar Jovanovic, an environmentalist and We Must coalition member, said the most important information was that the ruling SNS and the SPS would not have a majority in Belgrade’s city assembly. He warned late on Sunday that his Ecological Uprising organization would wait to see what would happen “tonight and tomorrow, but be ready, see you in the street”. CRTA’s projections added that the opposition list Milos Jovanovic – Hope for Belgrade won 6.3 percent of the vote, the Zavetnici 3.5 percent, and Bosko Obradovic – Dveri / POKS 3.4 percent. Other parties and coalitions were below the three percent threshold. Different parties reported SNS victory in some other local elections in eastern and western Serbia.

CRTA: Many irregularities, but no effect on results; Worst damage done before (N1)

CRTA’s program director Rasa Nedeljkov said on Monday that the election day was full of tensions, which occasionally escalated into physical violence, and that “repeated gross violations of election rules” were recorded in five percent of polling stations in Serbia and Belgrade. “Extremely poorly organized and tense election day was the expected outcome of the continuous collapse of the integrity of the election process, marked by strengthening and improving various forms of electoral corruption and endangering citizens’ voting rights,” Nedeljkov told a news conference. He added that “the most important part of the damage to the quality of the elections was done before the election day,” but that Sunday’s irregularities could not influence the elections’ result. “In the negative synergy of the parties that gained support through undemocratic means, the reluctance of institutions to protect the law and the public interest and the unprofessionalism of most of the most influential media,” Nedeljkov said. He added that “the unwillingness of polling boards to fully ensure the voting process in accordance with the procedures was noticed during the election day. That is evidenced at 18 percent of polling stations in Serbia and six in Belgrade. The most common irregularities were: keeping parallel records in and around polling stations, violating the secrecy of the ballot, pressuring voters and buying votes”. According to Nedeljkov, the most visible thing in larger urban areas was that after the polls closed at 8 pm, 11 percent of voters in Serbia wanted to vote, and in less than half of those polling stations, they were not granted that right. “In Belgrade, at 8 pm, 27 percent of polling stations had voters who wanted to vote, but they were not allowed to do so in 12 percent of the total number of polling stations in Belgrade. There were violations of the secrecy of the ballot in 14 percent of polling stations, while in Belgrade, that happened at ten percent of polling stations. In a significant percentage of polling stations in Serbia (11 percent) and Belgrade (eight percent), polling station committee members or voters recorded irregularities. The presence of third parties, unauthorized to attend the voting process, was recorded at six percent of polling stations in Belgrade, and four percent in Serbia,” CRTA said. During the election day, the most common irregularity was the keeping of parallel records of voters within the polling stations, recorded in 11 percent of polling stations in both Serbia and Belgrade. Another of the most frequently recorded irregularities was the violation of procedures for voting outside the polling station, i.e., voting “from home”, which was recorded in 12 percent of polling stations in Serbia, and ten percent of polling stations in Belgrade, according to Nedeljkov. Pavle Dimitrijevic of CRTA said that the organization sent seven reports to the police, due to five cases of buying votes and two cases of the ‘Bulgarian train’, a type of vote-rigging. “In as many as seven cases, our observers eye witnessed illegal actions; we gathered enough information to report these cases to the Interior Ministry,” he said. Dimitrijevic added that the most significant recorded number of such cases was recorded since 2016 when CRTA started monitoring the election process.

Serbian citizens in B&H vote at 15 polling stations in B&H (N1) 

As many as 11,500 citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) who hold Serbian citizenship are eligible to vote in the Serbian presidential, parliamentary and local elections on Sunday. Fifteen polling stations in B&H were opened on Sunday morning, of which 12 polling stations were opened in Republika Srpska (RS). Some 2,000 voters were registered for the vote at two polling stations in Banja Luka. As many as 1,196 voters were registered for the vote in Sarajevo. According to the Consulate General of the Republic of Serbia in Banja Luka, the number of the RS voters registered for the Serbian elections is two times higher this year compared to previous years. The highest turnout was recorded in Lopare, Doboj, Drvar and Trebinje. Serb member of the B&H Presidency Milorad Dodik, who voted in the Serbian presidential and parliamentary elections in Serbia at the polling station at the Serbian Consulate-General in Banja Luka on Sunday, said that he will exert efforts into working together with Serbian authorities to ensure that the RS citizens automatically obtain the citizenship of Serbia one day. “One day I would want to see the RS citizens automatically obtaining the citizenship of Serbia and for all of them to be able to vote in Serbian elections in the future. That will be part of my efforts in the future, to ensure this through cooperation with the Serbian authorities”, noted Dodik. Dodik said that he is using his right to vote and he is convinced that Serbia will continue to strengthen its democratic capacity and follow the path of stabilization and development of peace, regional relations, the economic situation and infrastructural projects. RS parliament speaker Nedeljko Cubrilovic (DEMOS) told the press after the vote in Banja Luka that the presidential, parliamentary and local elections in Serbia are important because of peace, stability and economic development of Serbia and the region. He expressed his belief that Serbia will get a stable government that will continue the cooperation with the RS and the region. Cubrilovic assessed that Serbia will set the tone for political relations in the Balkans. RS Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic (SNSD) cast his ballot in Belgrade. He told reporters after the vote that the RS finds it very important to see the development and stability of Serbia. PDP leader Branislav Borenovic stated that he is sure that Serbia will continue to be the strongest political, economic and security factor in the Western Balkans and in this part of Europe in the future. Borenovic also said: “I am of view it is of great importance to maintain and strengthen our relations with our motherland Serbia. It has been proved that they helped us on many occasions when we were facing the hardest times and showed how to seriously address all key challenges, that were many in the past period.”

Guliyev: Parties should resolve all issues and prepare themselves for this year’s election (Dnevni list) 

Special Representative on South East Europe of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Azay Guliyev visited B&H and other countries in the Western Balkans last month, and that he spoke to representatives of the authorities about many issues, including the issue of changes to the Law on Elections of B&H. In an interview for Fena news agency, Guliyev expressed optimism regarding reform to the electoral legislation, commending the establishing and the work of the Inter-Agency Working Group tasked with work on the electoral legislation, which to him is a sign that all the parties involved in solving of this important issue are committed to finding best possible options to reach compromise. Guliyev also noted that the OSCE promoted dialogue as best means to achieve result, which is why he encouraged parties to resolve all the issues they see as obstacles, to overcome them and prepared themselves for this year’s elections. Guliyev further noted that we all know that the elections are of utmost importance for deepening reforms and strengthening the state institutions in B&H, also reminding that he talked to officials in B&H about the regional cooperation, reconciliation and rehabilitation, as well as about B&H’s Road to the EU. He stressed that all his collocutors in B&H agreed that the EU integration road remains one of main goals of B&H and most effective incitement to achieve progress in terms of reform process.

Kristo: There is no more important issue than changes to Law on Elections (Dnevni list) 

HDZ B&H Deputy President Borjana Kristo that there is no official invitation to talks about the electoral reform, which would take place in Brussels, arguing that everything is about speculations until the time there an official invitation. According to Kristo, it is up to ‘them’ (Brussels) to assess the situation, expressing hope that the new round of talks will happen “because currently there is no more important issue than the change to the Law on Elections and creating formal conditions for holding of the elections”. Kristo also reminded that, owing to a court judgment, provisions about election of delegates in the Federation of B&H (FB&H) House of Peoples were erased from the Law on Elections, adding that B&H has to implement several European Court of Human Rights’ judgments as well. In addition, Kristo said that HDZ B&H and the Croat People’s Assembly (HNS) have been doing everything and offering constructive solutions that would be in interest of political stability and future of B&H.

Muhic underlines that Bosniak authorities believe that Bosniaks should not be electing Croat representatives (Dnevni avaz) 

Second largest Bosniak party SBB B&H spokesperson Sedjad Muhic stressed that all Bosniak authorities believe that Bosniaks should not be electing Croat representatives and underlined that in Saturday’s interview for Vecernji list, SBB B&H leader Fahrudin Radoncic repeated the same stance. The article reads that even in 2010, when SDP designed Zeljko Komsic, Haris Silajdzic stated that it is not fair for Bosniaks to elect member of B&H Presidency from the rank of Croat people and the same stance was presented later on by Bakir Izetbegovic, Radoncic, Elmedin Konakovic and even the Head of Islamic Community, Reis Husein Kavazovic, adding that it is a different story how to regulate this matter through the legislation, underlining that stories about the third entity, constituencies and two lists in the Federation of B&H (FB&H) are not welcome and will not get support among Bosniak representatives. Muhic noted that this stance of Bosniak leaders is causing panic among the “couple of communist- left wing” members gathered around Komsic, who are aware that in case of any kind of agreement and progress in B&H, they will lose their parliamentary privileges and high salaries they enjoy. SBB B&H Spokesperson further noted that these people are unable to hide their hysteria, so they are imposing certain stories about treason and lies about “a currently impossible civic state”, trying to justify their desires for mandates, privileges and high salaries. Muhic underlined that every normal person wants to live in a civic state, but he raises question whether this is currently possible and answers that in the current domestic political and international circumstances this is absolutely impossible, which is something that Komsic and those around him, are well aware of. He stressed that they are using this story about utopia as preparation for the election campaign, underlining that he will be the first to vote for them when they start to fight for civic B&H in Bijeljina, Zvornik, Siroki Brijeg, Posusje, etc. Muhic concluded that their spreading the story about civic B&H only in Sarajevo is seen as nothing but populism and exploiting of patriotic feelings of Bosniaks.

Dodik: There is option for RS to organize elections on its own (RTRS) 

Serb member of B&H Presidency Milorad Dodik stated on Sunday that RS will get a democratic government in the elections and there is also an option for the RS to organize the elections on its own. He stressed that the RS is a subject of the election process and that no one is elected at the level of B&H as a whole, which speaks about the intention of those who have created the Dayton Peace Accords (DPA) to give the entities subjectivity for the elections. “The election process was taken from us the same as many other things were seized from us, so the RS is the subject of the election process,” Dodik added.

Cooper: Russia always wants to stir up tensions in the region (VoA/Dnevni list) 

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia Laura Cooper stated for VoA that Russia has tried to interfere and stir up tensions in the Balkans before, which it continues to do until present day. However, according to Cooper, the US, as well as the EU, will continue joint efforts to preserve peace and stability in the Western Balkans. Answering a question as to how closely the Pentagon is following the security situation in the Balkans and whether some worrying moves of Russia have been noticed, due to the fact that some European leaders have expressed concern that the conflict (in Ukraine) could spill over into other regions, Cooper mentioned the increase in size of the operation ‘ALTHEA’, saying it is a very positive sign of all of us in securing stability. Cooper further noted that ‘we’ always following the security situation in the Western Balkans and are committed to ‘our’ relations with the allies in the region and maintaining strong relationships throughout the region, including Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Speaking about how Russie could try to destabilize the Balkans after the invasion of Ukraine, Cooper said Russia has many tactics it could use again. Namely, it could use cyber interference, it could manipulate with the information space, it could use corruption, which has corrosive effect in the region and it could also sell weapons as means of influence. In that context Cooper said that the (Russian) military equipment has not achieved good results in Ukraine, which is why the last means could be less powerful. Speaking about Serbia, Cooper said “it is not in Serbia’s interest to be partner to the Russian Army, which is brutally attacking the civilian population in Ukraine”.

Turmoil over construction of airport in Trebinje continues; Turkovic and RS officials exchange accusations (BHT1) 

BHT1 carries that the turmoil over the construction of the airport in Trebinje continues. After Mayor of Dubrovnik Mato Frankovic requested the suspension of the project of construction of the airport in Trebinje, officials in B&H started with accusations as to who is blocking the project whose implementation has been waited for years and whether all other projects in B&H will be blocked. In a letter sent to the B&H authorities, Frankovic stated that it is necessary to suspend all works on the construction of Trebinje airport until environmental impact tests are conducted across state borders. “We a priori do not oppose the construction of an airport in a neighboring state, because we do not have a right to do that. However, on the other hand, what we are asking for is to determine whether the project has an impact or will not have an impact on the environment, and especially on the quality of the Omble spring,” Frankovic stated. Responding to Frankovic, Trebinje Mayor Mirko Curic said that there is no need to involve politics in the story of the construction of the airport. At the same time, Chairman of the B&H Council of Ministers (CoM) Zoran Tegeltija thanked Frankovic for reminding him of the signed agreement on cross-border cooperation between B&H and the Republic of Croatia. Tegeltija reminded of the construction of a radioactive waste landfill in Trgovska Gora, which, he says, does not contribute at all to the improvement of good neighborly relations. B&H Minister of Communications and Transport Vojin Mitrovic said that the whole point is that one wants to slow down the project of Trebinje airport in some way. “I believe that in the final instance there is an interest of certain structures from Sarajevo not to implement this project,” Mitrovic underlined. Serb ministers have accused B&H Foreign Minister Bisera Turkovic of obstructing the Trebinje airport construction project, which Turkovic has denied. “Absolutely incorrect and false claims have been made in some media that I obstruct any project! On the contrary, all projects in the interest of the citizens and the state of B&H, which are implemented in accordance with the law, will have my support wherever they are implemented in B&H. Those who think they can circumvent laws and procedures, state institutions and their competencies are the ones who slow down, block and obstruct projects,” Turkovic said in a statement. BHT1 reminded that the construction of the airport is planned 14 kilometers from Trebinje in the area of three villages – Cerovac, Talez and Hum. The construction of the airport would be financed by Serbia, which would later manage it. The previously agreed construction of an airport in Trebinje has been made complicated by the Bosniak ministers in B&H Council of Ministers (CoM), as the procedure of approval of this project jointly implemented by RS and Serbia requires two consents of B&H CoM and B&H Presidency. Serb member of B&H Presidency Milorad Dodik warned that stopping the construction of the airport in Trebinje is unacceptable, stressing that Serb representatives in B&H institutions in Sarajevo will know how to react adequately to any obstruction of the development projects in the RS. He said that they will respond with reciprocal measures in case of attempt to stop this project. He reminded that several development projects in the Federation of B&H (FB&H) were on the agenda at the latest session of B&H Presidency and he did not vote against any of these projects. According to Dodik, B&H CoM has already decided to sign a memorandum on the Trebinje airport project and things are being delayed unnecessarily, which creates additional distrust in B&H. He said that in case that this project is stopped by joint institutions at the level of B&H, there will be no point in further participation of the RS representatives in the work and decision-making in the joint institutions. Dodik commented on the letter sent by Dubrovnik Mayor Mato Frankovic and Dodik said that the construction of this airport certainly has to be done in accordance with ecological criteria, but the collocutors in this conversation are institutions of Croatia and B&H, but not the city of Dubrovnik. Dodik said that he does not understand where the focus on this is coming from. He added that during previous works on the project of the airport seven to eight years ago, institutions were included and there were no complaints filed from Croatia or Dubrovnik.

Russian Embassy: Schmidt cannot be considered HR in B&H and his expected report to UN SC is nothing but opinion of private person (ATV) 

The Russian Embassy to B&H issued a statement reacting to the O Kanal interview in which (High Representative) Christian Schmidt said that Russian Ambassador to B&H Igor Kalabukhov has become more silent lately but his recent statement in which Russia was brought in connection to the question of whether B&H wants to become NATO member is “somber and legally unsustainable”. Schmidt also announced that he would present his report to the UN Security Council (UN SC) in a couple of weeks. In the reaction, the Russian Embassy stated that Schmidt cannot be considered the HR in B&H and that his expected report to the UN SC is “nothing else than an opinion of a private person”. The Embassy noted that the UN did not appoint Schmidt as the HR, unlike his predecessors. “As far as the statement of the German citizen Christian Schmidt about the Russian Ambassador in B&H – who allegedly became more silent lately – goes, we would like to remind that we do not consider it necessary to comment on attempts of a person, who actually does not exist in the function he imagines he has,” the Embassy added.

REGIONAL PRESS

Dubrovnik mayor asks B&H govt to halt construction of Trebinje airport (Hina) 

Dubrovnik Mayor Mato Frankovic has sent a request to Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H)’s Council of Ministers to halt the construction of the airport in the town of Trebinje, southern B&H, until the impact of the project on the source of the River Ombla is assessed. The road distance between Dubrovnik and Trebinje is roughly 30 kilometers. The mayor sent the request to the chairman of B&H’s ministerial council, Zoran Tegeltija, on Friday following the adoption of a memorandum by B&H’s Council of Ministers and the government of Serbia on the future cooperation with the aim of implementing the project of Trebinje Airport. Frankovic recalls that apart from Croatia, B&H and Serbia are also signatories to the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (informally called the Espoo Convention). The document is a United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) convention signed in Espoo, Finland, in 1991 that entered into force in 1997. The Convention sets out the obligations of Parties—that is States that have agreed to be bound by the Convention—to carry out an environmental impact assessment of certain activities at an early stage of planning. It also lays down the general obligation of States to notify and consult each other on all major projects under consideration that are likely to have a significant adverse environmental impact across boundaries. Frankovic says that the construction of airports is covered by the convention whereby the signatories are obliged to apply the principles and provisions of ESPO as well as of the Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). “Therefore, we express dissatisfaction with the current course of action and with the absence of initiative for dialogue…concerning this environmentally important issue,” writes the mayor of the southernmost Croatian city. Dubrovnik insists on the immediate suspension of the project until all the fulfilment of requirements under the ESPO convention and SEA protocol. According to the available information, the future airport should be situated in a Karst area and on soil permeable to water in the Talez settlement in the Serb entity of B&H, just eight kilometers of the source of the River Ombla.

Serb flag again removed from Serb minority council building in Varazdin (Hina) 

The flag of the Serb minority has again been removed from the building housing the Serb Minority Council in the northern city of Varazdin, the local organization of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) said on Saturday, condemning this incident as an act of hatred. The Serb minority flag was removed sometime between Friday afternoon and 10 am on Saturday, when the police were notified, while all other flags were left in place, Marina Kolaric, spokeswoman for the Varazdin Police Department, confirmed to Hina. She said a criminal investigation was under way. The incident was sharply condemned by Barbara Antolic Vupora, a member of the national parliament and head of the local branch of the SDP, who said that Varazdin should be a city of tolerance, culture and peaceful coexistence of all its citizens, including ethnic minorities. Since this was not the first such incident, because the Serb flag had been removed from the same building last November, Antolic Vupora said that “someone is sending a message to some of the citizens of Varazdin that they are not welcome here.” “I am confident such things would not happen if we taught our children tolerance from an early age through civic education in school. This case shows that society has failed in that regard,” she said.

Medojevic: War between Russia and Ukraine spills over into Montenegro, no one to protect state (CdM) 

With the reckless and servant policy of the government and most political parties, NGOs, media controlled by Western structures, Montenegro involved itself in the war between Russia and Ukraine. This has led to the radicalization of the situation in the country and the danger of the conflict spilling over into Montenegro, said the president of the Movement for Changes Nebojsa Medojevic. “For now, fortunately, it all comes down to hybrid propaganda threats, spinning, false bomb reports, but that does not mean that terrorist threats are not real and the risks are certain,” Medojevic points out. He reminds that over 20,000 Russian citizens live in Montenegro, Russians are the biggest investors in the real estate market. “On the other hand, the behavior of Ukrainian diplomats in Montenegro has long been absolutely contrary to international conventions and their non-diplomatic activities encourage radicalization of the situation and the spill over of the conflict in Montenegro,” Medojevic said. He adds that Montenegro is a country without political and state leadership, and that powerlessness is used by radical elements from both the Russian and Ukrainian sides to extremize and destabilize the situation in the country. “I have called in vain for wisdom, seriousness and responsibility and for not taking sides in this global chaos. According to him, Montenegro is a small and weak community. “Robbed, disunited, quarreled, destroyed institutions of the system, in the deadly embrace of the mafia. It is time to put our political differences aside and show historical responsibility for the fate of the people and the state. If this behavior of the majority of the political elite continues, dangerous terrorist actions with human casualties and unforeseeable damage are possible. Our security system has been destroyed, the intelligence sector has been drilled and compromised, and the work of terrorists has been made easier. There is simply no one to protect the people and the state,” Medojevic concluded.

MEPs condemn the DF’s ties with Russia, and call for the unblocking of the parliament as soon as possible (Pobjeda) 

MEPs submitted 236 amendments to the draft report on Montenegro, which was presented last month in Strasbourg. Among other things, the amendments call for a stronger dialogue between political actors in order to make progress in the country, warn of Russian influence in Montenegro and call for the formation of a government as soon as possible, Pobjeda writes.

The rapporteur for Montenegro, Tonino Picula, stated in his amendments that he strongly condemns the decision of Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic to change the rules for obtaining Montenegrin citizenship, which was made at the end of his term without, as he stated in the amendment, without broader consultations with the authorities and institutions.

“I am seriously concerned about the increased number of applications for Montenegrin citizenship after that decision,” Picula said. He also said that he strongly condemns the so-called “golden passport” scheme and regrets its extension until December 2022. “I appeal to Montenegro to take more actions to prevent money laundering and I emphasize that citizenship through investment carries security risks and the potential for corruption, money laundering and tax evasion,” Picula said. In the submitted amendments, Picula states that the period after the 2020 elections was marked by deep polarization between the new ruling majority and the opposition, as well as within the ruling majority, and that boycotts and lack of constructive engagement of all parliamentary actors hinder decision-making in parliament. Several MEPs called for the formation of the government as soon as possible and the election of a new parliamentary speaker in accordance with the Constitution, democratic norms and pro-European aspirations of the vast majority of Montenegrin citizens. “We call on the responsible stakeholders to stop blocking the parliament and enable the formation of a new government as soon as possible and the election of a new parliamentary speaker in accordance with the Constitution, democratic norms and pro-European aspirations of the vast majority of Montenegrin citizens.” “We call on political parties and their elected representatives to protest within the institutionalized democratic procedures in the Assembly, instead of inviting people to the streets to escalate tensions,” the amendments said. MEP Zeljana Zovka called on the Montenegrin authorities to focus on making progress in Chapters 23 and 24, and then on closing the chapters in negotiations with the EU. “She notes that all 33 checked chapters have been opened, but regrets that none have been closed since 2017, which as she says is slowing Montenegro’s positive reputation and status as the most advanced country in the Western Balkans in its progress towards EU accession. and encourages Montenegro to focus in particular on meeting the provisional benchmarks in Chapters 23 and 24 and thereafter closing the chapters,” the EP amendment said. In the submitted amendments, Vladimir Bilchik, among other things, calls for constructive and inclusive political dialogue and commitment of all parliamentary parties to overcome the current polarized political climate and strengthen the functioning of state institutions in order to achieve significant progress in key EU reforms. He notes that a functioning parliamentary democracy is key to reform processes. “I emphasize the importance of the strategic alliance of Montenegro with the EU and NATO and condemn the attempts in the Government, security and military sector to question the strategic orientation of Montenegro,” Bilchik pointed out through the submitted amendments. He also said that he encouraged the Montenegrin authorities to cooperate with the EU and NATO in the field of resistance to foreign interference, foreign manipulative disinformation and cyber security. Tomas Waitz notes that the leader of GP URA, Dritan Abazovic, received a mandate from the President of Montenegro to form a new government composed of pro-European parties, which he says is very welcome, especially in light of the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine and the continued influence of pro-Russian political parties and narratives. in country. “We strongly condemn the support expressed to the Russian Federation on the day the Russian aggression against Ukraine began. “We are seriously concerned about the links between the high representatives of the Democratic Front and the Russian intelligence service,” said the parliamentary group represented by Waitz, noting that Russia’s persistent interest is to destabilize the country. Bilchik strongly condemns the support that some political leaders expressed to the Russian Federation on the day of the beginning of the Russian war against Ukraine. “I remind you of Russia’s persistent and continuous interest in destabilizing the country by spreading manipulative disinformation and influencing state and non-state actors,” Bilchik said.

No reason for fear of intelligence leaks in Montenegro, strong alliance against Russian pressure (CdM) 

Laura Cooper, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, believes that there are no concerns there could be any potential intelligence leaks in Montenegro. She recalled that a quite constructive meeting of the US-Adriatic Charter was held last week and Montenegro took part as well. Regarding the cooperation between the US and Montenegro, Ms Cooper said she didn’t have concerns of any kind. “And I can tell you that during the talks, there was a very positive tone about the cooperation between the United States and Montenegro, while concerns were expressed about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. So, I’m not worried about future cooperation between the United States and Montenegro.”

Talks between Macedonian and Bulgarian historians end (Republika) 

The talks between Macedonian and Bulgarian historians ended with a short statement and no statements. The meeting was held in a positive atmosphere, with open dialogue and exchange of views regarding the positions and interpretations of the past for the XI and XII centuries, reads the brief statement of the commission. When asked if he was satisfied with what had been achieved, the chair of the Bulgarian team, Angel Dimitrov, leaving the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, after the second last day of the talks, commented on the weather conditions. However, Bulgarian historians told reporters this morning that Tsar Samuil was a closed topic, but not Goce Delcev. This round of talks was assessed by politicians on both sides as bringing progress. The agenda also included the remarks made by the Bulgarian side about the medieval period for our history textbooks for seventh grade, after reviewing the Macedonian remarks about the Bulgarian textbooks for sixth grade. The historical commission has so far given recommendations to the governments in Skopje and Sofia for the joint commemoration of five people – Tsar Samuil, the brothers Cyril and Methodius and St. Clement and St. Naum. By the end of the year, 4 more meetings of the commission for historical and educational issues are planned, and the next one will be held in Sofia on May 12 and 13. Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani said that a decision between Macedonia and Bulgaria to jointly honour medieval historic figures such as Tsar Samoil, saints Cyril and Methodius and St. Clement of Ohrid was made. It seems that this will be the focus of the discussions between Macedonian and Bulgarian historians on Thursday and Friday, and will be at the core of the agreement that is expected to be announced – in the hope that it will lead to Bulgaria lifting its veto. “The members of the historic commission on our part stand in defence of what they agreed to in 2019. At the moment, the discussion is whether these contents will be recommended to the schools, to be added to the history books. But I will leave to the commission to explain these details,” Osmani said. The Kovacevski government is pushing on the Macedonian historians to agree to the Bulgarian historic narrative. The next step will obviously be whether and how this new narrative will be imposed on the school children. The joint multidisciplinary expert commission for historical and educational issues between Macedonia and Bulgaria can give its expert opinion on certain topics related to history education in both countries, and certain recommendations, but not to solve political problems, said the member of the Macedonian team of the Commission Petar Todorov, adding that certain political statements leave the false impression that EU membership negotiations depend on the Commission. “We, Todorov emphasizes, are not a political body, and we do not see things through a political prism and as a political process. Therefore, he says, it cannot be expected that the members of the Commission from both sides will resolve political issues. That is the responsibility of politicians. There was a public impression that the EU negotiations will depend on us. We have already had such a situation once in the past, specifically it was October 2021, here again we are witnessing it. The commission can give its expert opinion on certain topics related to history education in both countries. The commission ca not solve the political problems, those problems will be solved by the politicians, that is why they go to the polls and seek to get positions, and thus responsibility to solve those problems. We can only help. And this is where our role ends” Todorov told Sitel TV. He stressed that the last meeting that took place in the past two days in Skopje, and the previous one in February in Sofia took place in a constructive atmosphere.

Elections’ standard is still a problem, Meta receives director of ODIHR (Radio Tirana) 

Albanian President Ilir Meta received the Director of the ODIHR, Mr. Matteo Mecacci. In a Facebook post, where he shares photos from the meeting, Meta writes that he praised the cooperation and assistance of the ODIHR for monitoring and raising the electoral standard in Albania, which according to him is still a major problem for the country. “Pre-election manipulation through the misuse of legal mechanisms and state resources is becoming an instrument of legitimizing authoritarian power and avoiding governing accountability, cementing the so-called hybrid regimes,” Meta writes.

Meta condemns Russia’s attack on Bucha (ADN) 

President of the Republic Ilir Meta has condemned this Sunday the Russian attacks on civilians in Ukraine. The Albanian head of state expresses his shock at the atrocities of the Russian army in Bucha. According to the President, the international community should redouble its efforts to stop the Kremlin’s killing machine. “Shocked by the atrocities of the Russian army in Bucha and other regions of Ukraine. Massacred civilians, mass graves and rapes are indisputable evidence of the genocide that Russia is committing in Ukraine. The international community must redouble its efforts to stop the Kremlin’s killing machine. Crimes against humanity committed by Russia and which are terrifying all of humanity must be investigated as such. As a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and as a member of NATO, Albania will give its contribution in this direction,” writes Meta.